Zucchini Cookies
by K.H. Wright
Summary: Because sometimes saying "I love you" with regular cookies just isn't as original.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Man, what's with me and unpopular pairings? Well, I thought there should at least be one fic for this pairing, so I'm gonna write one. This is kind of a strange idea, but I hope you'll enjoy. Please review. If enough people like this, I may write more fics with this pairing in the future. :3**

o0o

Rusk ground the cookie into crumbs between his fingers, letting the pieces fall into the cool water. He watched as the fish congregated around the spot where it had landed. At least someone was going to end up eating them. With a sigh, he reached into the bag and pulled out another cookie, crumpling it up as he criticized himself. Go to his house; give him the cookies. That's all he had to do. No mentions of feelings were going to be brought up. He was going to give the cookies, and leave. _But no,_ Rusk thought, _I'm too much a coward to even do that._ He hadn't even passed the inn on his way to Micah's place before he lost his nerve and turned around. So instead, he sat beside the water and slowly ground another cookie into nothing but crumbs, feeding the hungry fish. Had his sister seen him, he would have been yelled at for wasting food.

He wasn't sure when his feelings for Micah had started to grow. All he knew was that one day he had been hit by the realization and had been smitten ever since. The idea for the cookies definitely wasn't to confess; he wasn't ready for that yet. No, it had just been a fleeting thought that maybe, just maybe, Micah would really notice him. Not as just a friend, but as a possibility for something more.

"Guess I really messed up my first attempt at that," he said aloud.

"First attempt at what?" came a voice from behind him. Rusk nearly jumped out of his skin. How had he not heard someone coming? He turned to see Micah standing about a foot away from him, looking a little roughed up.

"You just getting back from the valley?" he asked.

"Desert," Micah responded, lowering himself to the ground slowly. Rusk smiled.

"You've lived here how long and the desert is still giving you trouble?" he said. Micah threw up his hands and shook his head in a mock show of frustration. The two laughed together.

"Well, next time I go, why don't you come with me? We'll see if you can fight as well as you talk," Micah said, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder. Rusk felt his face heat, but luckily Micah didn't seem to notice.

"By the way, you didn't answer my question: first attempt at what?" Micah looked at him inquisitively. Rusk stammered for a moment before he finally came up with a good answer.

"Uh, first attempt at making these cookies," he lied. Micah tilted his head to the side.

"Are they no good?" he asked.

"I think I messed up the recipe. They don't taste right," Rusk answered. He sighed. He didn't like the idea of talking down on his cookies because, in fact, they were perfect. Not what he had expected, as it really was the first time he had made them, but they were still perfect.

"Do you mind if I try?" Micah asked after a second. Rusk felt his face go red.

"Uh, o-okay. You know, i-if you really want to." He handed the bag of un-crumpled cookies to Micah, and the blonde took it and then reached inside for one of the sweets. Taking a bite, his eyes went wide.

"These are really good," he said "But they're unusual. What are they?" Rusk smiled.

"They're zucchini cookies," he responded. "I found the recipe in an old cook book of my dad's."

"Zucchini? In a cookie?" Micah said in a childlike wonder. Rusk shrugged, still smiling.

"Well, you are always trying to tell me how good vegetables are; I thought I'd give it a try."

"I don't think it counts when it's in a cookie," Micah said, laughing.

"Of course it does!" Rusk laughed along with his friend. _See?_ he thought._ See how natural you are with him? You had no reason to be so scared._

"You mind if I have another?" Micah asked, breaking Rusk from his thoughts. Rusk shrugged.

"Nah, I don't mind. They were kind of for you anyway," he admitted.

"Really? All for me?" the blonde said. "What's the occasion?"

"Uh, well," Rusk stammered. He had let his guard down and, for a moment, he almost confessed then and there. Fortunately his mind kicked in and stopped him from speaking. Unfortunately it hadn't replaced those words with any new ones, so he sat stuttering like a moron.

"Rusk? You okay, you're really red…" Micah finally said. _Of course, now he notices,_ thought Rusk.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine, I, um, have to go help out my dad, I'll see you later," he told Micah. Then he quickly got up and booked it to his place, leaving Micah just a tad confused. Once he got in the door, he bypassed his sister and dad and went up to his room, where he plopped down on his bed. He couldn't believe how stupid he had been, almost letting out his emotions like a teenage girl.

"Well," he said into his pillow, "he liked the cookies, so mission accomplished." That small fact gave him at least some solace. With a small sigh, he rolled out of bed and went downstairs to get to work. If only dealings in love were as easy as baking a cake…

o0o

**Blah, what's with me and crappy last lines? xD **

**So I started writing this with the intention of there being some sort of confession on Rusk's part but the more I wrote, it seemed out of place to have him confess and have Micah just be like "OMG I liek u 2!" ('Cause he totally talks like that…) Maybe I'll write a second chapter if someone so wishes. I'm not one of those people that goes, "I need *insert number of reviews here* to write the next chapter!" Honestly, I just wanna feel like I'm not talking to myself. xD If at least one person wants another chapter and reviews, or even just Story Alerts it, I'll write another. That being said, please leave a review!**

**-K.H. Wright**

**P.S. I didn't edit. I'm getting lazy! Excuse any errors! (You know, with all the time it took me to write the f***ing note at the end, I could've read it over. Maybe I'm not lazy; I just concentrate on the wrong things. xD)**

**No really, I'm shutting up now.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hm, I wonder what it is about eating popcorn that gets my creativity going. Oh well, I'm not complaining. xD Thank you to those of you who reviewed, I really appreciate the support!**

o0o

The sun was just starting to set as Rusk sat down outside his house, holding a freshly baked bag of zucchini cookies. It had been about a month since he had given his first batch to Micah, and things between the two boys had pretty much stayed the same, relationship-wise. They talked, laughed, and went adventuring together; things stayed the same. And the whole thing was tearing Rusk apart. The more time he spent with Micah, the more he liked him and the more he liked him, the more scared Rusk got. How was he ever supposed to tell Micah how he felt? What if he was rejected? What if Micah never wanted to talk to him after that? He couldn't risk it, or at least that's what he had told himself up to this point.

The reason he had baked another batch of the cookies was because he had finally decided that enough was enough. He was going to tell Micah how he felt. _I am. I am, _he thought. But despite the mental commitment to do so, he couldn't bring himself to stand up. He was disgusted with himself. He was such a coward. Why would Micah want to be with someone so spineless? He dropped his head into his hands and took a ragged breath, trying to calm himself down. It did nothing to quell the flurry of emotions inside of him. For a while he stayed like that, as the sun slowly disappeared behind the horizon. He was only torn from his position when he felt someone pat his shoulder.

As he raised his head, half of him hoped that it was Micah, but he was disappointed when he found himself staring at a golden wooly. He smiled at the monster; he had seen it around the village before, but had never gotten this close to it.

"Hey little guy," he said, patting its head. The wooly looked up at him, and Rusk thought that surely he was imagining the concerned look on its face. With a sigh, he reached into the paper bag and pulled out a cookie, offering it to the monster. It reached out, grabbed the cookie, then took a large bite out of it. Rusk watched as it finished off the sweet, then handed it another one.

"Bah?" it said. Rusk smiled sadly.

"Go on, take it. I can't give it to the person it's meant for anyway," he said, fighting to keep the sadness out of his voice, and then wondering why he did so. What did it matter if the wooly knew he was sad? So he kept talking.

"You see, there's this guy," he started as the monster ate the cookie, "and he's kind of my best friend. But you see I like him more than that. A lot more than that. I guess you can say I've really fallen for him…"

"Bah?" the wooly seemed to be shocked. Rusk hung his head.

"See? Even you think I'm weird. How am I supposed to tell him? It's not like I'm a girl; he'll probably be disgusted. Then where does that leave me? If I keep it quiet, I can still be near him but…I don't know, it just doesn't feel like enough…" He felt tears sting his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. Rubbing his face, he looked back up at the wooly. The monster scooted closer to him, and placed a paw on Rusk's hand. The boy couldn't help but smile.

"Heh, I guess you do understand. That's something, I suppose." He handed the monster one more cookie, then stood.

"Well, goodnight. Thanks for listening, though I guess you can't really talk back, can you?" He smiled then went inside, where he ran upstairs and got into bed, slowly falling into a restless sleep.

o0o

Micah walked into his house, transforming as he did so. His head was spinning with the words he had just heard out of his friend's mouth. "I've really fallen for him." That's what Rusk had said. Placing a hand to his head, he tried to sort it out. Rusk had been talking about him, right? He said "best friend" and Micah had never seen Rusk around any of the other guys in the village. No, Rusk was definitely talking about him. His chest was full of emotion: confusion, anxiety, and…longing? What did he want? He thought for a second. Was he happy Rusk had said that? He didn't know. He was so confused. With a heavy head, he walked to his bed, where he lay all night, sleepless.

What was he supposed to do now?

o0o

**Okay, so I said that I was only going to do two chapters, but I think this fic needs three. I will finish it up in the next chapter. Please leave a review~**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: My creativity is trying to kill me. I have too many ideas! And none pertaining to this fic! –sobs- Why do I go between having nothing, then too much? Well, I'm hoping to try and finish up all my unfinished fics within the next few days, (with a few extra one-shots that I can't help but write.) Thanks to my friend ShariLove, for this lovely, lovely idea~**

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Rusk woke the next morning groggy and unrested. He had woken hours before he usually did; the sun hadn't even risen yet. Getting out of bed, he dressed quietly, trying not to wake his father or sister. He wasn't sure where he was going to go, but somehow the air in the upper story of the diner seemed thick; he couldn't quite breathe right. Sneaking down the stairs, he exited the building, leaving his family sound asleep.

He wandered the town aimlessly, still not quite sure where he was going. He went south from his house, passing the general store, heading into Privera Forest. Once there, he stood next to Daria's house, not sure whether he wanted to turn left, into the forest and have to deal with the monsters, or go to Flower Field, and feel like the girl from a romance novel. His other choice was to go home, so he finally decided on Flower Field.

Early morning in the field was strange. The flowers were closed tightly, waiting for the sun's embrace to finally peel back their curtains and wake them up; dew clung to their leaves. It was serene. A whole sleeping world. Rusk walked among the plants, thinking. Yesterday hung heavily around his thoughts. How was he ever supposed to relay his feelings to Micah? He stood still for a moment, and watched as the sun slowly made its appearance over the horizon.

"I think I need to stop thinking about it, and just do it," he voiced to the rising star. The solution seemed too simple, yet somehow, it seemed like his best bet. Staying until he felt it was a decent hour, he finally left to speak to Micah.

o0o

Rusk approached the Sharance Tree, his hands shaking as he knocked on the door. For a moment, he was sure he smelled smoke, but he wrote it off as his imagination. As soon as he knocked, he heard Micah's voice from inside.

"Come in," he said, so quietly that Rusk barely heard him. Turning the handle, Rusk entered the house and coughed. Yeah, he _had_ smelled smoke and it was coming from Micah's house. The other boy stood in front of his oven looking both sad and frustrated at the same time. Rusk came up behind him and leaned on his shoulder.

"So I see you made some charcoal," he said casually, raising an eyebrow.

"Be nice," Micah said softly. "Just because you can do it doesn't mean I can." Rusk smiled.

"So what was it supposed to be?" he asked.

"A cake," Micah responded, then in a quieter voice he added, "For you." Rusk felt his heart sputter.

"F-for me?" He mentally kicked himself for stuttering. "Wh-why would you make something for me?"

Micah looked at him for a moment, a strange look in his eyes. Next thing Rusk knew, Micah had kissed him. It happened way too fast for him to comprehend at first and he stood shocked.

"Um, Rusk?" Micah asked, blushing a bright red. He was looking directly at his feet. "I-I'm sorry, I thought you liked me too…"

Rusk could find no words. He was so happy, but the shock had robbed him of his speech.

"R-Rusk? Could you please say something? You're making me nervous," Micah said, his voice trembling. Finally, Rusk found some control of himself. Moving forward, he tipped Micah's head up, so they were looking each other in the eyes and softly he pressed their lips together in a gentle kiss. It was simple and sweet; neither one of them felt the need to deepen it and after a moment or two, they pulled apart.

"I do like you," Rusk clarified, smiling. Micah smiled back and the ponytailed boy felt a giddiness start in his chest at the sight. He chuckled.

"You know what this means, don't you?" he asked. Micah looked confused.

"I don't know what you mean," he responded.

"This means I have to teach you how to bake," Rusk laughed again. Micah rolled his eyes. He should've guessed…

o0o

**Ugh, crappy ending, as per usual. But wouldn't you guys be scared if I didn't have a crappy ending? It'd be like, a sign of the apocalypse. xD Okay, I'm done. Please leave a review. I had a lot of fun with this fic, I hope you all enjoyed.**

**-K.H. Wright**


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